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Minato Kuramoto
, while referring to .'}} ( , ) | birthday = January 23 | age = 17 (Part V, Chapter I) 19 (Part V, Chapter II) | gender = Male | height = 5'11" | weight = 151 lbs | eyes = Light Pink | hair = Black | blood type = AB- | affiliation = Seireitou Kawahiru Raian Getsueikirite | previous affiliation = | occupation = Basara Member | previous occupation = High School Student | team = | previous team = None | partner = Hinata Kusuhana Rūka Ishida Hakkōda Kanō Kōya Orihara Itaru Shimura | previous partner = None | base of operations = | marital status = Single | relatives = Hōsen Kuramoto (father) (mother, deceased) Takara Kuramoto (older sister) (magic construct) | education = Senjukuha | status = Active | signature skill = ( , ) }} :"Never surrender, face down the nearing battle, with strength in your soul." - Seireitou-shishō Minato Kuramoto (倉本 湊, Kuramoto Minato) is a male born of lineage as well as the direct descendant and reincarnation of a powerful known as . He is the son of and , as well as the younger brother of . Originally born as a normal human in the , Minato died a premature death as a teenager and passed on to the . Prior to this, he was a first-year student at .Bleach story; Springtime of Silver He would go on to become a student of the , under , and currently resides there together with his fellow uchi-deshi, . Minato is one of the founding members of , in service to the , as well as the leader of . He is later granted the title of , and is recognized by the as one of the , with the designation of " " (狐 (バルペキュラー), Barupekyurā; Latin for "Little Fox"). Appearance .]] Unlike many of those in Karakura High School, Minato often wears rather loose-fitting clothing; preferring comfortable attire. He is accustomed to wearing blue V-collar T-shirts with blue pants, having a body mesh under the T-shirt, and a white sash around his waist on the outside of the shirt much like a tunic. Despite being seen as "harmless", often the result of his plain appearance,Bleach story; Springtime of Silver the intensity of his eyes can sometimes be interpreted as intimidating, to the point where no student at the high school seems to ever mess with him. Though his personality tends to contrast this severely. Minato's brown hair hangs near his cheeks to frame his face. Once he became an official disciple of , Minato took to wearing a new martial arts uniform that is given to him as a gift by Seireitou and Saori, the latter of whom designed it. It is mismatched, as it includes a sleeveless variation of the Taekwondo dobak, the pants worn in Chinese kenpō, and the arm and leg bandages worn in Muay Thai. Minato took to also wearing pants worn by Taekwondoka, along with a long black belt that hung from his left hip side, presumably a genpuku gift. His hair has also lengthened slightly, reaching his shoulders and the style of his bangs seems to resemble that of Seireitou's own Minato manga.png|Minato in the manga. Minato from behind.png|Minato's uniform from behind in the manga. Personality Minato is shown to be a young man with a quiet way about him, usually not the one who'll speak up first in front of others. However, he seems have his thoughts always active, about anything and everything around him, but usually keeps to himself.Bleach story; Springtime of Silver In the beginning of the Jinki Fragments arc, he would be depicted as a normal teenager, sans the rebellious personality. This could possibly stem from his father's death when he was only three, and also that his mother would rarely take a role in his life, besides in regards to his studies. In addition, being ignored and disregarded by those in his childhood, and even into his teenage years, Minato developed a craving for acknowledgement. Minato stated that his Taekwondo training made him gain more confidence, implying that he was an even more meek individual prior to this. Despite his mother's lack of support, Minato would find solace in his martial arts master, the latter supporting Minato's goals to become a great Taekwondo master one day. However, once Minato's training as a Jinki Fragment began, Seireitou would not praise Minato as he once did, being rather brutal and cruel. Besides Saori, and at times, Raian, Minato's teachers follow this same approach when it comes to Minato's training. As a result from this, Minato is frequently shown to be very susceptible to negative comments abouts his strength, easily falling into a comical depression. Despite having a strong level of skill in the martial arts, Minato still doubted himself, feeling that he could not last on his own in a real fight. However, as his training under Seireitou, Raian, and Saori progressed, these feelings of doubt would soon pass away. It was not only this, but Minato himself would have changed. This would also be influenced by his growing friendship with Hinata Kusuhana. Perhaps an equally notable trait is that Minato can be shown to be quite serious, but also presents himself with a somewhat "comic and naive" persona, leading opponents to gravely underestimate his abilities. Though, this doesn't seem to be on purpose, since it is a key aspect of his personality. Minato has shown himself to be a very kind, selfless, and helpful young man and always puts others before himself. Even when it comes to his enemies, he shows them respect and never speaks ill of them, even caring for their well-being. Several people are moved by his kindness and selfless nature, to the point they even change sides and befriend him. Both Seireitou and Raian have referred to Minato's amazing charisma as a "unique power" that allows him to change the worldly views of others. Minato's unstoppable determination and drive strongly impacts the lives around him, even his enemies had been affected by his empathy. It has been stated by Minato to his teachers that he seeks "enough power to protect those that he loves". However, Raian would tell Minato that saying that is the same as "I want the power to kill those who are my enemies", causing Minato to retort that he only wishes to fight until his opponents are unable to harm his loved ones. On occasions, he allows his aggression to take center-stage whenever someone insults his teachers or harms Hinata. History Synopsis Azure Spring of the Monkey King Spirit Detective Kuramoto The Darkness Cometh A Larger World Equipment , which help him to wield his .]] *'Soul-Fixation Tekkō:' In order to properly wield the power of the , , as a normal soul would immediately fall to the of such a power, Minato was given a special pair of tekkō which served the purpose of fixating his soul to not be consumed by the chaos' corruptible influence. They are a dark red in coloration and wrapped around both of his forearms, being a notably comfortable fit as Minato has claimed. Despite being incredibly aged in appearance, even having what appears to be slight cracks achieved from past conflicts, they are remarkably durable; even withstanding being crushed by force. According to Saori, both tekkō possess defensive power that depends solely on the strength of Minato's will; capable of fending off even the most aggressive assaults when his doubts have been diminished during battle. Minato has also demonstrated the ability to channel his spiritual power through them to further enhance their durability. Powers & Abilities flowing from him.]] .]] : According to his mother, Takara Kuramoto, and later re-stated by his mentor, Seireitou Kawahiru, Minato is presumed to have within him a seemingly limitless dormant power, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage. Because of his gentle nature and rare bursts of rage, his spiritual energy often fluctuates and therefore makes it difficult to determine his actual level of power. Seireitou has stated that Minato possesses infinite potential inside him and that his foundation is solid enough that he could become "the highest building ever." Minato's spiritual power is originally strong enough to put up resistance against Seireitou's spiritual pressure, albeit it was purposely weakened. Even in the presence off the Hōgyoku-enhanced Sao Jiang, he was able to "maintain his existence" (albeit he was still brought to his knees and paralyzed in fear). Upon meeting him, Kamui noted that Minato held immense potential within him. The color of his spiritual energy is normally a midnight blue, and takes the form of a massive bird when being unleashed; the bird being a symbol of free, that which he represents as a Jinki Fragment. Possessing lineage of Shinigami, and being one of the nine Jinki Fragments, Minato holds within him a deep and vast supply of spiritual energy. Due to this and that he has far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware beings. He has recently learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks or act as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely. However, despite this, it seems that his body retains an immense amount of spiritual energy within, that is only released in times of incredible rage and anger. *' :' Through his Hakuda training, one of the most crucial elements of Minato's skills became the control he would slowly begin to refine over his and . In doing so, he became able to learn and even invent techniques that would help him against his future enemies when he would be unable to physically harm them solely by his martial art skill. Minato's training allowed him to develop his own special techniques, many of which seem to resemble that of Kidō spells despite not involving the use of ; due mostly to Satoshi Konishi offering his knowledge of Shinigami spells.Bleach story; Quickening of a New Power! Put to the Test! Well-Developed Body: Initially, Minato was seemingly scrawny, and subsequently, his strength was below-average. Of course, this was to be expected in the boy's younger teenage years. After spending five years at the Taekwondo school in the human world, Minato managed to garner a considerable degree of physical strength. His body's shape was far more toned and built for combat. Furthermore, he spent most training sessions in sparring classes. While he hadn't appeared to build up impressive muscle tone, the fact that he spent time sparring rather than lifting weights meant that he was focusing on improving the muscles meant for combat without adding any superfluous muscle mass anywhere on his body that would have served as a hindrance in combat. Because of this, while he may appear rather lean, his strength was great enough to contend with individuals nearly twice his size and match them when engaging in hard-style martial arts. In addition to that, focusing mainly on what would be effective in fights rather than simply improving his raw physical prowess also contributed to a heightened agility and impressive flexibility. Minato could freely kick over his head and perform complete splits of the leg with strict ease, even while in mid-air and when dodging an opponent's strike. Once he began training under Seireitou, however, his physical capabilities would quickly begin to skyrocket. He would undergo a degree of what he considered to be "training in utter hell". Seireitou put him through frightening ordeals and practices which were designed to build up his foundation that led into a well-defined physique as well as a rebuilt musculature. And as he continues his training, his strength would grow exponentially at an almost frightening pace. His leg strength has grown great enough to withstand tremendous amount of impact, even allowing him to kick at near full speed underwater, while being able to smash apart a mask instantaneously. Great Agility: Minato is capable of grand acts of speed, although he often downplays his abilities in order to gain an advantage. He can effortlessly dodge a barrage of punches from someone near his black belt level, and counterattack before the latter can even react. During his training sessions with Saori, Minato's leg strength and dexterity was increased immensely, granting him a much higher level of agility and balance. His newfound agility has been commented by Seireitou, to the point of forcing him to put a bit more effort in their sparring sessions. Minato has also developed acrobatic abilities almost at Hinata's level, able to easily scale and glide down a skyscraper with complete control and no wasted movement. *'Māipō Expert:' While it was originally unknown if Minato is using some form of Hohō technique, his speed is high enough to disappear without a trace, like that of Flash Step practitioners, and was even able to sneak up behind Satoshi Konishi during their fight, a respective master of Shunpō in his own right.Bleach story; Quickening of a New Power! Put to the Test! Ryōmaru later noted that Minato was using the Māipō technique, a speed-enhancement ability developed through years of martial arts training. Hakuda Expert General Hand-to-Hand Prowess: Having become accustomed to a straightforward form of martial art combat, Minato originally focused on attack; his movements followed the intention to take out his enemy as quickly as possible, regardless of how violent the methods needed might be. However, this contradicted his innate nature to not cause harm to people around him. Because of this internal conflict, not only would Minato's movements end up being hindered by doubt and insecurity, but also required him to lose concentration in order to fight effectively. According to , following this martial art path would have led him to become nothing but a mindless monster in the end; known by many as the "path of asura". Therefore, the basis of Minato's initial training was focused on trying to reach a middle ground where he could fight effectively while not going against his pacifist nature. While this was rather difficult, given that Minato's abilities lay in his prior knowledge of Taekwondo, which centered around aggressive assault, Seireitou found it possible to implement certain Aikido and Jujutsu teachings and styles into Minato's fighting style. The result was a method of combat geared toward "receiving" and "responding" rather than taking the initiative. Rather than charging his enemies without thinking, he would instead focus on the situation rather than his foe. In doing so, his movements would reflect the circumstances rather than the actions of his enemy. He would be trained to view every situation and occurrence as an isolated event and respond appropriately based on what he felt to be right. Of course, this rigidness was merely the foundation. After learning to isolate those circumstances, Minato would train himself to chain together those occurrences and be able to fluidly respond to a continuous series of situations rather than taking them in one at a time. This led to Minato developing an affinity toward a unique form of soft style that was still aggressive in nature but focused on responding to situations. His movements began to show immense fluidity in their form, no longer having rigid steps and strike motions as he demonstrated prior to training, allowing him to chain together strike combinations quickly enough to take down multiple opponents before they were able to counterattack. Martial Arts Knowledge: during a fight.]] *'Taekwondo:' Based on his former position as an assistant instructor at a small school in the , Minato has incredible skill in Taekwondo. He carries the rank of 3rd-degree Black belt, and was capable of amazing feats of physical activity before having acquired powers. Because of his flexibility, Minato's attacks will often follow up with a high-section kick, and he preforms full-splits toward the ground when ducking. It was after Minato realized his power as a Jinki Fragment that Seireitou began to teach Minato principles from other martial arts, essentially turning him from a Sotosentō-type Hakuda user to a Nakanisentō-type, despite Minato's tendency to resort to the former type of hand-to-hand during moments of anger and rage. Utilizing kicks and punches, as well as locks and sweeps, Minato had trained himself during the two year timeskip to become a lethal weapon in battle. Even in battle against Hollows, these skills proved to assist greatly. : *' ' (鉄掌, "Iron Palm") :*'Sōtesshō' (双鉄掌, "Twin Iron Palm"): Utilizing both hands as , Minato thrusts both of his palms forward as they narrow the gap between them upon contact with the target. In making contact, an immense rush of follows through with Minato's twin palm thrust, causing a tremendous amount of concussive force to surge through the point of contact straight through the victim. During his training, Minato demonstrated being able to break through multiple slabs of reinforced concrete with ease. Against , the force brought forth by the Sōtesshō technique when directly struck into the opponent was enough to bypass the defenses of and cause major damage. While Kyun appeared uninjured at first, the attack caused his entire body to shake up from the projection of force rattling through his body. *' ' (風車, "Windmill"): Allowing his body to rise upwards, after launching himself off, Minato relaxes his body and releases the hold on his joints, allowing his body to move freely as the wind itself; hence the name of the technique. With a swift sheering motion of the legs, he launches one of his legs downward to build up momentum in the same instant that he whips forth his leg out in order to deal a devastating strike to his opponent. His body moves in such a way that should his kick miss, he is able to use the momentum from earlier to continue an assault until his strike makes contact. The only major weakness of this technique is that the user has to focus all their power into their legs, forcing them to lower their arms and enter a guard-less stance. An enemy could easily land a devastating attack towards their upper body, such as when Ryōmaru Sagara broke one of Minato's arms. This is, however, useful since they can lure their opponent closer and use the attack at point-blank range. *'Taketonbo' (竹蜻蛉, "Bamboo Dragonfly"): With a swift motion of the hand, the practitioner essentially throws their target, ideally flipping them onto their back. However, it can be taken a step further, which allows the user to violently thrash the victim before finally allowing them to fall to the ground, dealing far more injuries and possibly leading to them having the wind knocked out of them. While the most basic use of this technique requires the hand of the user to grab at the target at lightning speeds in order to engage the throw, Minato had further refined this technique with Seireitou's guidance to a level in which it does not require any physical contact whatsoever. Simply coming close to Minato's body is all that suffices the prerequisites for the Taketonbo, allowing him to quickly neutralize an opponent's physical motion and influence their entire stance, which is the main focus of grappling techniques, subsequently causing him to throw the victim and ultimately flip them. If he so wishes, he can even repeatedly toss and throw his opponents, without ever lifting a single finger. *' ' (陥落撞, "Sinking Thrust") Shōin Shiranui Style As a student of the , Minato has been personally trained by Seireitou in the (松陰不知火流, Shōin Shiranui-ryū; literally "Pine Trees in Darkness Guiding Light Style"). (金剛拳, Kongōken) *'Destroyer Fist of the Monkey King' (猿王の破拳, Saru-Ō no Haken) (金剛体, Kongōtai) Reihikariha (魂光波, "Spirit Light Wave"): Minato learned this technique during his training with Seireitou, the latter of whom had invented the technique. By cupping his hands down at his waist, in which the hands are at least very close or touching one another, the latent reiatsu is converted from spiritual pressure into a mass of pure energy, typically taking the form of a uniform sphere. The hands are then thrust forward to shoot out a streaming, powerful beam of energy. Because he is still learning about spiritual energy, Minato's Reihikariha pales in comparason to that of his mentor's, but still boasts incredible force.Bleach story; Quickening of a New Power! Put to the Test! This is a powerful technique with great force when utilized correctly, capable of causing large-scale damage and destruction, though the strength of this attack relies solely on Minato's will to win. Ideally, his Reihikariha at full power is initially as powerful as Raian Getsueikirite's own blast in Shikai. The Reihikariha could be further enhanced through absorbing foreign sources of reiryoku and reiatsu, which Minato was once capable of doing through his technique. By infusing the collected energy with his own to form a Reihikariha, Minato created a new technique out of the two that easily surpassed the force of a normal attack. The burst of energy emitted from this fused technique is immense, easily engulfing the entire sky with Minato's spiritual energy in its first use after absorbing a level thirties Hadō with incantation. Strength-wise, it was capable of completely shattering Keisuke Mimoto's barrier effortlessly as well as killing the latter with a single use of the attack, when the combined energy attacks of both Minato's normal Reihikariha and Satoshi Konishi's master-level Sōkatsui blast could not even scratch the same barrier.Bleach story; Darkness Approaches In order to deal with a myriad of opponents with complex and evermore challenging abilities, Minato has taken to further developing his master's Reihikariha and creating a medley of variations that each serve a distinct purpose. With the help of the skills he obtained throughout his training under the Seijin coupled with constant self-practice drills, he managed to eventually understand that the original Reihikariha was invented to serve as the utmost expression of the soul's strength in the most simplistic way possible, and thus, the basic technique is raw and unrefined, requiring a user to shape and craft it into a tool all their own. Due to the loose spiritual energy emitted from the raw Reihikariha technique, a being such as a Quincy can easily absorb the reiryoku from the attack. In other cases, it is also because of Reihikariha's own composition that makes it rather difficult to control when fired, as its path can't be manipulated and its speed is far too slow to allow for proper follow-ups.Bleach story; Quickening of a New Power! Put to the Test! Therefore, Minato took it upon himself to develop a variation to the Reihikariha that would eliminate these weaknesses. Unlike the original Reihikariha which is focused between one's palms and concentrated into a large sphere, Minato instead is able to also focus his power to a single point; in this case, Minato's index finger. It can then be fired as a projectile beam of spiritual power that is so compressed and dense that a Quincy cannot hope to absorb it, also taking into account that its speed nearly surpasses that of an Arrancar's Bala and rivaling the strength of a Cero. Minato has also demonstrated the ability to fire off multiple of these beams from a single extended hand which can be used to either handle multiple adversaries or fire a relentless barrage against a stronger foe.Bleach story; Quincy Soldiers March (魂手剣, "Spirit Hand Blade") (全拳の形, "All-Fist Form") Seizaruken Minato's personal martial art style is known as the "Sage Monkey Fist" (聖猿拳, Seizaruken). By applying the teachings of the Shōin Shiranui Style with the powers he inherited from , he developed a Hakuda style that he could call his own. According to him, the core principle of the style is to allow oneself to be imprinted by the essences of both the allies one fights beside as well as the enemies that one fights against, adopting their strengths in order to further develop his own strengths. In a sense, it can be considered similar to the idea of a monkey mimicking the person in front of him, a sage that treats all things as his teacher, and perhaps even a demon that attempts to become human by imitating them. Shōin Shiranui: Kiroku (限界棄却, "Limit-Abandoning") Being the reincarnation of the , Minato's true power is one born of that connection, and as such, his is one that invokes this power. Unlike other Hakuda-forged Shinuchi, what makes his unique is that it exists as a duality; that is, to say, the Shinuchi itself possesses two distinct forms that are utilized based on the situation. Minato's Shinuchi has both a Red Form (赤の変化, Aka no Henka; Japanese for "Red Transformation") and a Blue Form (青の変化, Ao no Henka; Japanese for "Blue Transformation"); the former of which is more defense-based while the latter is more offense-based. theorized that the red form represents Minato's while the blue form represents his ; a phenomenon that is unheard of, given that the Shinuchi is meant to be a singular state in which a Hakuda specialist unifies both aspects of the soul. Red Form When Minato first awakened Shinuchi, the red form manifested first; symbolizing his desire to protect over a desire to become stronger. Originally, Minato had a difficult time accessing Shinuchi, more so than other Hakuda practitioners of the same level. Perhaps it was due to his inexperience or also due in part to the enormous potential within him as the Monkey Sage's reincarnation; whatever the case, the rough and unfocused strength became far too much for him to initially control on his own. Because of this, gifted him a special pair of tekkō gauntlets that allowed him to channel his Shinuchi power in a manner similar to a traditional . Over time, he was able to refine his use of Shinuchi and achieved the ability to harness that strength without the need for a medium. When he enters the red form, his normally brown hair transitions onto a rich vermilion color. His normally dark blue flares outwards and changes into a bright crimson, akin to that of intense flames that bathe his body in their light. Something unique about his red reiatsu in this form is that while it flares outwards, there is no notable pressure that radiates from Minato, to a point that it often gets overlooked by opponents who are unable to see his person from afar. His body also appears to gain considerable muscle mass upon transforming. The red Shinuchi form focuses more on internalization of power instead of external expression. It appears that the release of this form greatly enhances all of Minato's attributes by a significant degree; to such a point that his power is remarked upon as being absolutely monstrous. Strength, speed, agility, even mental acuity; every personal attribute is enhanced by the Shinuchi. Because of this, the red form even influences his body's own healing rate, allowing him to heal from wounds that he normally would require first aid to deal with. This quality is proportional to Minato's reiatsu, in that the more of this red reiatsu he emits, the more effective these enhancements become. Washing his reiatsu over certain wounds can allow him to regenerate to some degree, whereas focusing that reiatsu to certain limbs or actions can enhance those efforts. Ultimately, as a technique born from Hakuda, it is ultimately dependent on how Minato himself uses the Shinuchi, for the passive ability itself only bestows an even spread of enhancements throughout all of his physical and mental faculties. He has demonstrated rather impressive feats in Shinuchi that he would normally find to be rather difficult. Minato was able to stop a from a high-level using only a single hand, whereas in his base state, he struggled to fend off a similar attack. His strength is also great enough to parry repeated attacks from ; the feat done so with a single hand.Bleach story; Quincy Soldiers March His speed enables him to cover large stretches of distance in a mere fraction of seconds; outstripping even average Captains of the . Golden Blade (金の刃, Kin no Ha) Golden Cloud (金の雲, Kin no Kumo) Golden Gaze (金の見, Kin no Mi) Golden Shield (金の盾, Kin no Tate) Blue Form It was only after his fight with that Minato came to learn about the blue form of his Shinuchi, and through training, he learned how to harness its capabilities. In contrast to the red form, Minato's hair upon invoking the form is pushed upwards slightly and tinted a noticeable teal blue; likewise, so too does his eyes change into the same blue coloration. Similarly, the crimson aura that bathed Minato in the red form, resembling a calm and elegant radiance, now flares outwards aggressively like an azure flame that seeks to render everything around it onto ashes. While the red form was focused on internalization, expressed through a widespread enhancement of physical and mental faculties, the blue form is an externalization of power in the purest form. In other words, Minato's blue Shinuchi is focused entirely on offense, accumulating all of his inner strength together for the sole purpose of conquering the opponent. The trade-off, therefore, is that all of the defenses and healing powers associated with the red form are now inert, rendering him vulnerable to an enemy's own attacks in the process. However, one may argue that it may not be necessary. In the blue form, Minato has demonstrated a total evolution of power in contrast to the red form, at least in terms of damage output. He was able to overwhelm Langdon in the blue form while barely managing to keep up with him in the red form. At the time it was unveiled against him, Minato demonstrated such immense strength and speed that he was able to completely outstrip and subsequently dominate the wizard; the difference between the red and the blue Shinuchi being likened to the release of a . Originally, because of the blue form's complete devotion to offense, Minato's lack of experience with the form caused him to experience a severe reiatsu drain that left him unable to wield the Shinuchi for long periods of time. In fact, when it was first used against Langdon, Minato managed only to maintain the form for roughly three minutes before reverting back to his red-haired form and had been suffering from momentary fatigue. After that battle, he resolved to further perfect the form in order to cut down on the stamina cost, eventually expanding the time he could hold the form without exhaustion to nearly seven minutes; allowing him to engage in prolonged battles while maintaining a sufficient degree of stamina and strength. Seireitou has warned him against relying too heavily upon this form due to the negative effects stemming from overuse, instead persuading him to focus on further mastering the use of both forms so as to fight more efficiently. Mixture of Shades After coming to realize that both the red and blue forms were insufficient on their own, Minato resolved to learn how to harness the both of their characteristics in battle. Being able to properly understand their benefits and weaknesses, he was able to develop techniques in which he could wield the two Shinuchi forms in a more efficient manner when faced with particularly powerful opponents. , upon witnessing Minato utilizing Shikō no Kamae.}} Shikō no Kamae (志向の構え, "Oriented Stance"): Serving as the answer that Minato arrived at when theorizing how to overcome the limitations of his form, the Shikō no Kamae is a technique in which he can alternate between the red and blue forms in the middle of combat. The purpose of this technique is to allow Minato to access both his normal red Shinuchi and the enhanced blue Shinuchi in bursts rather than channeling them regularly. His red form, while affording him a widespread increase in all of his combat attributes, is focused almost exclusively on defense, whereas the blue form focuses everything on pure offensive power. Switching between them would allow Minato to efficiently channel the properties of each form only when necessary. In another way of understanding this relation, it is akin to the idea of breathing in coordination with movement in order to generate maximum power output. Martial arts postulate that one ought to tighten their muscles only at the moment of attack and defense, while leaving the body relaxed and loose in all other moments, in order to avoid tiring themselves out and imposing undue burden on the body. With the same idea, by replacing "the tightening of muscles" with "the unleashing of the Shinuchi's power", Minato created this technique to prevent wasteful expenditure of his strength. Of course, such a feat was not simple by any means; it demanded such vigorous training that even Seireitou found himself impressed that Minato reached this point all on his own. When Minato attacks in the red form, for the most brief of instances, an azure blaze bursts forth from his body, while when receiving an attack or reinforcing defense, a red blaze manifests instead. In the former case, he draws upon the blue Shinuchi form only at the moment of attack, while only drawing upon the red form's power at the moment of defense or support. By doing this, Minato maximizes the efficiency of his Shinuchi while severely reducing the rate at which he tires out, allowing him to battle almost infinitely longer than before. In addition, it also allows him to access the full strength of both forms each time he manifests an aura burst, rather than the reduced potency of the forms with every passing minute he remains locked in battle. When he decides to engage in the Shikō no Kamae strategy, his red form has a noticeably less intense aura, to the point where his reiatsu feels weaker and even the normally bright scarlet flames appear thinner and more transient. The switch happens so quickly that most don't notice the phenomenon, not even among the most skilled of martial artists; in particular, , who was noted as being equal to Minato in terms of skill at the time, did not notice the aura bursts until after Seireitou pointed them out. As noted by , swapping between the two forms does not feel any different than what he was doing when he used the forms individually, even to the point that he mocked the technique for being a waste of time. It was not until Ryūkei faced Minato performing the technique in direct combat that he came to experience exactly what he was doing, indicating that the benefits of Shikō no Kamae are not readily apparent to observers. Sōryū no Kamae (双流の構え, "Twin Flows Stance") Sarugami Powers Controlled Form Sarugami Shinuchi Former Powers & Abilities Quotes * (To Raian Getsueikirite) "I'm not really going towards a particular goal... It's just that I've decided to face whatever comes at me, until I gain the power to protect the people that are important to me." * "If the master's duty is to shoulder the student's burdens, along with their pain... then what's the student's duty? To grow strong enough to shoulder the master's very pain." * "Wrong! The martial arts are not for those who seal away their own hearts. I... I've fought with a lot of people who only knew how to kill, while closing away their hearts... All of them had eyes full of sadness, as if they hated their own abilities. You can never truly master something if you hate it!" * (Remembering Seireitou's teachings) "Like the rocks within the rapids. Has the rock ever feared? Has the rock ever considered avoiding? The only thing the rock does... is let the water flow around it." * (To Ryōmaru Sagara) "I admit that I can fight even without consciousness... thanks to my master's day-and-night training. But this is totally different than your kind, who are willing to sacrifice one's own disciple in order to gain power! This power of mine... is the love from a master to their student. The fist of a strong heart!" * (Remembering Seireitou's teachings) "When you are truly burning with anger, calm your heart. When there is an opponent you must defeat, hide your emotions deep within yourself. Know the depths of your heart. If you fall into them, you could lose your life. In the continously unbroken stream of attacks and defenses, there are parts in one's defense that are not being consciously controlled. Those are the isolated strongholds known as the Korui. The blindspot." * (To Itaru Shimura) "I trained with the Seijin... with Seireitou-shishō and Saori-dono... I'm Senjukuha's first disciple, Minato Kuramoto. And I'm also... a Jinki Fragment. Mūkade will stop at nothing to get me and Nǚwā will make sure to crush me by any means necessary. I don't have a choice here... I must be ready. I refuse to let everybody down."Bleach story; Unexpected Preliminaries! * "Having this sort of power and using it only to hurt others with a closed heart... It's just senseless violence! There's nothing valuable about that at all!" * (To Suzaku Kawahiru) "Seireitou-shishō... taught me to uphold that which I consider important. If I remain standing still while someone I care for is in danger... then I might as well be dead. Because only someone that does not have a heart could stand idly by while allowing those transgressions to happen. And if one does not have a heart, it means that they are dead. Even if it kills me in the end... and it destroys my soul in the process... So long as I am alive, I must act. I have to move... and not just sit here, crying about what I could have done or what others could have done. That is... what it means to have a heart. And to be a martial artist."Bleach story; Fly to Flames * (To Satori Kuramoto, after questioning the importance of protecting his friends) "It's not about logic! It's about what I believe! I'll protect them because I want to! I'll place my soul on the line!" * (To Satori Kuramoto, regarding Team Kuramoto and Hinata Kusuhana) "The outcome of the battle is influenced, not only by the physical aspect, but also by the psychological aspect. Those five are fighting now to help me, but in the deepest corners of their hearts, they are fighting... because they are following their strongest feelings that come from the innermost regions of their soul. That's... how Master Seireitou would explain it. For justice, for personal belief, for one's way of living, for love, and for the future... Regardless of how powerful your comrades consider themselves to be, they are fighting to obtain nothing but selfish pleasure. And therefore it is absolutely impossible for them to defeat their opponents. These five... are without a doubt... my most trusted friends!" References Behind the Scenes According to the author, Minato's theme song is "Imagination" by SPYAIR.